Return to Godric's Hollow
by Hettie Hoffleboffer
Summary: Sequel to The Music Box. One year has passed since the final defeat of Voldemort. Harry is finally able to go on with his life with Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. But the surviving deatheaters have different plans, and Harry must take Ginny into hiding.
1. Introduction

Return to Godric's Hollow

Introduction

One year has passed since Harry Potter has defeated and killed the Dark Lord Voldemort.  
Many lives have been lost to the battle against Voldemort, worst of all, the death of Professor Dumbledore, Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Remus Lupin, mentor and friend to Harry and his family, has temporarily assumed the Headmaster position in Dumbledore's place.

Although several of the ill-famed Death Eaters have been imprisoned in Azkaban, many still have not been caught, and many still on the run, including the infamous Lucius Malfoy, father of Draco, Harry's Slytherin rival at Hogwarts  
As the Death Eaters struggle to regain power over the wizarding world, Harry and his friends have since left Hogwarts to begin their lives as young wizards.  
Hermione Granger, with her love of magical creatures, has chosen a position at the Ministry of Magic in the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. There she is currently researching a more permanent cure to Professor Lupin's monthly 'illness'. Her fiancé, Ron Weasely is currently a sports reporter for the Daily Prophet.  
As for Harry, the Ministry of Magic had offered him a job working as an Auror, helping to catch the lost Death Eaters as well as other dark wizards. But Harry refused, wanting to begin a new life with his friends and his girlfriend, Ginny Weasely who has herself just completed her education at Hogwarts . . .


	2. Homecoming

Chapter One

Homecoming

Harry Potter was standing by the ticket booth near the stone barrier that separated platforms nine and ten at King's Cross station. He was nervously thumbing through that day's Daily Prophet, carefully hidden inside a muggle newspaper. The station was busy for a Sunday afternoon, but he didn't mind at all, he enjoyed being amongst the bustle of muggles going about their normal lives. He checked his watch again for what seemed the hundredth time.  
Finally, the students and their parents began to trickle out of the barrier that led to platform 9 3/4. Harry saw Colin Creevey walk out of the barrier with his parents. His mother smiled at Harry but said nothing as she passed. Colin's brother, Dennis died at the hands of the Death Eaters just two years before, and his parents blamed Harry for his death.  
"Hello Colin." Harry said as kindly as he could when they passed.  
"Uh, hullo Harry." Colin said dully, barely glancing at him as he walked by.  
Harry thought it rather odd that Colin was so nonplused to see him. Colin was one of Harry's biggest fans, always taking pictures of him whenever he got the chance. Colin didn't feel the same as his parents however, and continued to befriend Harry after the death of his brother.   
Harry put this all out of his mind however, when he saw the only girl that could take his breath away come through the barrier.

"Harry!" Ginny squealed, running towards him with her cart.  
"Hey beautiful!" Harry said smiling at her. He embraced her, kissing her deeply as he did so.  
"You have no idea how much I missed you." He whispered in her ear as he continued to hold her tightly.  
Ginny pulled away and looked about curiously.  
"Harry, where's mum? Isn't she here too?"  
Harry avoided answering the question as best he could. Now was not the time.  
"I'm sorry. She had to rush off to see the twins about something. She asked me to come fetch you. Do you mind?"  
"Of course not! This is the first time since I've seen you since winter holidays. Where have you been anyway?"  
_ Why did she have to keep asking the questions that I can't answer yet? _Harry thought.  
"I'll tell you later." Harry grabbed her cart and started to push it towards the gates. "Now come on, we have to get going."  
"Great! I can't wait to get home. I've the Burrow, can you believe it?" Ginny said excitedly, but she stopped when Harry gave her a hesitant look. "What? Are we not going home?"  
"Not exactly."

Harry took Ginny's cart and led her to the parking garage. He listened quietly as she went on about school.  
"...and it was so strange that they kept us for an extra week. I still don't know what that was all about." She said.  
Harry gave her a sideways look, but looked away quickly, avoiding eye contact with her as she noticed this and looked back at him.  
When Harry stopped in front of an old, but well kept motorcycle, Ginny gave him a cynical look.  
"Isn't this the motorcycle that Sirius gave you for your commencement gift?"  
"Yeah."  
"Well how would you suppose that you are going to get my trunk and all my bags on this thing?"  
Harry pulled out his wand, looked around to make sure that no one was looking and said, "Porta baggage!"   
Harry lifted her seemingly heavy trunk and easily tied it to the back of the motorcycle without it tipping the bike over.  
"See, no problem." Harry said, winking at her as he put away his wand. He handed her his extra helmet. "Here, put this on."  
Ginny strapped on the helmet. "You still haven't told me where we're going yet, Harry."  
Harry grinned, trying desperately to keep up appearances. "I know. It's a surprise."  
"Gee, that's reassuring dear." Ginny said in a sarcastic tone that reminded Harry of her brother. She hopped on back of the bike.  
"Hang on." Harry said, jumping down to start his bike.   
Ginny wrapped her arms around Harry's waist tightly, and they started off.

* * *

  


"How much is it again?" Ron asked with is usual weak smile.  
When the delivery boy told him how much it was, all Ron could do was look confusedly at the wad of money in his hand. He slumped into the door frame, he still could not figure out the exchange rate between Galleons and Pounds, even though Hermione must have explained it to him at least a dozen times.  
A random thought crossed his mind. Maybe he should have taken Muggle Studies after all.  
Ron guessed as best he could. The delivery boy seemed more than happy with how he fared in the end. He left Ron in the doorway, pizza box in hand, still counting in his head.  
Ron walked over to the kitchen, nose pressed against the box. He was careful to step over Hermione's cat, Crookshanks snoozing on the rug as he walked to the kitchen table.  
He sat down happily at the table and opened the box. He was inhaling the fresh smell of green peppers and sausage when the kitchen fireplace suddenly lit up with green flames, as Hermione appeared inside, books in hand.  
"Hello darling!" she said as she stepped out of the flames into the kitchen.

Ron looked at her curiously as he picked up a slice of pizza from the box. "Why didn't you just apparate home, hun?"  
Hermione trudged over to the table where he sat and released the stack of books in her hands all over the table.  
"You know I just passed my test a few weeks ago." She said, looking nonchalant. "I didn't want to apparate with all these books. I could have left one behind."  
Ron looked at her slyly, "Don't you mean that you're afraid to do it?" he said under his breath, he raised the slice of pizza to his mouth, about to take a bite.  
Hermione snatched the slice out of his hand. "There is nothing wrong with not being entirely comfortable with apparating!"  
"You failed the test twice."  
Hermione gave him an offended look that immediately shut him up. She walked listlessly over to the counter to grab a napkin. Ron got up and walked behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist as he kissed her on the cheek. "Calm down, it's really not that serious. You're much better than you used to be."  
Ron felt Hermione cringe at his words. He realized that there was something else bothering her.  
"Of all things, why can't I be good at apparating?" she pouted. "This should have been easy for me!"

Ron turned Hermione around, still in his arms. "You have a lot on your mind lately. You have been working like a (he wanted to say house-elf, but he knew that would make it worse) dog working with Lupin. Not to mention the wedding to plan, and now with everything happening with Ginny, I think that apparating would be the last of your worries."  
Ron lifted up her chin with his hand. "Besides, I don't think I would want to marry you anyways if you were PERFECT." He winked at her and said teasingly, "I might just have to start calling you Percy."  
Hermione giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck, kissing him sweetly on the lips. "Don't you dare."  
They walked back over to the table and sat down. Ron nodded to the pile of books now all over the table. "Have you made any headway at all with your research?"  
"No," Hermione sighed deeply, finishing her bite of pizza she took from Ron. "Remus and I are so close, but we are somehow missing something. The Ministry is becoming impatient. They want to see results before they decide to name him permanent Headmaster at Hogwarts. We need to find something that will last longer than wolfbane potion."  
"You'll find it soon, you don't give up on anything." Ron said assuringly.  
Hermione smiled back. "So how about you? Have you talked to Harry yet?"  
"Yeah, this morning before he went to pick Ginny up at King's Cross." Ron said, picking off some burnt cheese as he held up another piece of pizza. "He tried not to, but he looked nervous when I spoke to him in the fireplace. He's not too sure that Ginny will go along with it."  
"She will." Hermione said, dabbing her mouth with the napkin. "It's for her own good."   
She thought to herself and smiled. "Then again, she is a Weasley."  


* * *

  


Harry slowed down and pulled into the garage of the flat he shared with his godfather, Sirius Black on the outskirts of London.   
He turned around to Ginny, still clinging to his waist behind him. "We are going to stay here for the night."  
"Just for the night? Harry, are you going to tell me what is going on or do I have to cast a truth charm on you?" Ginny said, genuinely perturbed at the lack of information Harry was giving out.  
"Yes, yes, I will tell you soon enough. But first we have to get you inside." He tugged her arm towards the door. Ginny followed, stomping her feet in rebellion.  
Once inside, Harry sat Ginny down on the couch of the living room. "Would you like some tea?" he asked, taking off his jacket.  
Ginny just gave him a look of loathing, arms crossed over her chest.  
"Alright! I will tell you what is going on." Harry said exasperated. "But you have to promise me that you will listen to what I have to say and not try to argue with me until I'm finished."  
"What!"  
"Ginny . . . "  
"Okay, I promise!" Ginny said her brow furrowing deeper.   
Harry tried not to laugh at her semi-feigned anger. He always thought that she looked the cutest when she was angry or irritated.  
"Well, I'm sure that you know about Percy's recent promotion to Junior Minister, right?"  
"Of course I do." Ginny said, trying to sustain a giggle. "Ron was so excited when he left the Dept. of Games and Sports. He told me that Perce was always insisting on reading the articles he wrote before they went to press at the Prophet. I guess Perce wanted to make sure that he was writing fairly about the teams or something like that."  
"Yeah," Harry chuckled, but quickly shook it off. "Anyways, he has heard rumors around the Ministry. Rumors having to do with you."  
"What kind of rumors?" she said inquisitively.  
Harry had caught her attention now. He looked away; he still didn't know how to tell her, so of course he just blurted it out.  
"Ginny," he said, taking her hand in his, "The Ministry believes that the surviving Death Eaters are looking for you."

Harry waited for some sort of outburst, but Ginny's jaw dropped only slightly. He cringed slightly before he went on.   
"Unfortunately, I also think that Malfoy is behind it."  
"What do you mean Malfoy is looking for me? What does that slimy little git Draco want with me anyways?" Ginny was sounding off. Harry could tell by the tone of her voice though that the name Malfoy gave her some alarm.  
It was in fact Ginny who had aided Harry during his final battle with Voldemort. She had stopped Lucius Malfoy herself from killing Hermione. Lucius was captured, but on the way to the wizards' prison of Azkaban, there was a rather fiery accident. And although his son Draco claimed that his father had died, Lucius' body was never found.  
"Well nobody really knows for sure that it's Malfoy looking for you." Harry said, noticing that Ginny was beginning to bite her lip again, a definite sign of nervousness. This made what he had next to say even more difficult.  
"But, er . . . " Harry sputtered out.  
"What is it? TELL ME!" she said as calmly as she could, her teeth gritted together.  
Harry looked down at his feet, shuffling them under the rug as he spoke. "Well, someone came to the Burrow, and tore up the house."

"OH NO! MUM! Is she alright?"  
"Yes, of course. She was at Hermione's at the time. But as soon as she came home, she notified Professor Lupin immediately. That's why you all had to stay at school for another week. Ginny, they went through your room."   
Ginny didn't care about that. "But mum, she is with Fred and George now?"  
"Yes, they are all just fine." Harry said patting her hand assuredly.  
"Well I still don't understand why they would be looking for me."  
Harry went on, "Percy told us that the Death Eaters in Azkaban have been talking. He said they have been raving on about the 'Weasley girl'. They have quieted down for the last few months, but now since the incident at the Burrow, everyone is really concerned. And even though I turned down a position as an Auror, they agreed that it would be in everyones best interest for you to be placed in protective custody with me."  
Ginny looked at Harry sternly, a trait that she had picked up from her mother. "Oh come on Harry! We can't go into hiding! There is no real evidence that they are really after me. Not to mention that they have no motive whatsoever!" she said loudly, her face becoming pink.  
"What? The Death Eaters think that you are responsible for killing one of their own, and that isn't reason enough for you!" Harry shouted back.

"They're in Azkaban! They're all MAD!" Ginny shouted back at him, her face now screwed up in anger.   
"Harry, we are supposed to be starting our lives together. Why do we still have to be afraid?" Tears were starting to well up in Ginny's eyes.  
Harry sighed deeply. She had made an excellent point, but she still didn't see the whole picture.  
"Ginny, I know you're upset. I really don't like the idea of hiding either, but I would rather do this than risk not having you at all. Please Ginny, this is so we can have a future together. Don't you see?"  
"Fine," Ginny quickly nodded her head, wiping tears away. "But just for the record, I hate this idea."  
"Understood. Now you might want to get to bed soon. We have to get up fairly early tomorrow. You can take my room for the night."  
"Yippie." Ginny said sarcastically, getting up from the couch.   
"Goodnight Harry." She growled at him, leaving him without even a goodnight kiss.  
Harry sat there alone in his living room. He knew it was going to be rough, but he wondered to himself what the next few months would be lying in store for him.  


  
  
  



	3. Home Sweet Home

Chapter Two

Home Sweet Home

It was still quite dark outside when Harry came to his room to wake Ginny up.  
He cracked the door open. He stood there a moment in the doorway watching her sleep soundly.  
Ginny looked absolutely beautiful. The moonlight washed over her in the darkness of the room, highlighting her ginger hair and some bare skin of her arm as she slept. The strap of her pink nightgown had fallen over her shoulder just a bit. Even though Harry knew they had to get going before sunrise, just watching her he felt the sudden urge to hold and kiss her madly.   
"Ginny?" he said quietly, almost a whisper.  
Ginny just rolled over, mumbling.  
"Ginny, it's time to get up."  
"Go away Potter. It's not even daylight yet." She moaned, crawling underneath her pillow. Her pink feet jutting out from under the bed sheets.  
Harry began to feel playful. He smirked and said teasingly, "Well I was going to be nice about it, but if your going to be difficult . . . "  
Ginny pulled the pillow down harder, knowing what was coming up next. He walked over to the bed, took an arm and pulled her up hard.   
"Ouch!" she said sitting up groggily, rubbing her eyes. The pillow on her head had made her hair a bit more tousled than before.

Harry laughed as walked back to the door and turned on the light. However, he became startled and quickly looked away when he saw her in the light. Ginny's nightgown was a bit more sheer and clingy than he realized.   
Harry searched for her robe, looking quite uncomfortable.  
"What's wrong with you?" she asked.  
He handed her the robe "You should probably cover yourself up." He said, feeling his face get hot.  
"Ha-rr-ry" Ginny said yawning, brushing the mess of hair from her eyes.  
"You've seen me in my nightgown before."  
"Yeah, when you were eleven. You have developed quite a lot since then."  
Ginny wrapped the robe around her shoulders. "Don't be so old fashioned. You sound like my Mum."  
"Sorry, It's just that I've never seen you like that before." Harry said, edging towards the door.  
"Well get used to it." Ginny said firmly. "Especially if we are going to be living together for awhile.  
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Well, go ahead and get dressed. I'll make us a quick breakfast before we leave."   
"So where are we going to stay anyways?"  
"It's another surprise."  
"Oh no. I don't want any more surprises. The last one didn't exactly go so well for me."  
Harry turned around in the doorway and smiled at her. "I promise that you will like this one."   
Harry closed the door behind him and made his way downstairs, hoping to purge all the immodest thoughts now seeping into his mind.  


* * *

Harry and Ginny were able to make good time by daybreak, flying unnoticed through the night sky without much interference. It was late in the morning by the time they reached the countryside.  
Ginny had tried to sleep on the back of Harry's motorbike, but it had mostly been in vain. She hadn't gotten much sleep from the night before, and she was still harbouring some anger about going into hiding with her boyfriend. And now, finally tired enough to sleep the road had become gravelly.  
"How much longer?" she shouted irritably into Harry's ear.  
Harry said nothing, but began to slow down as they seemed to be getting closer to the outskirts of a small village.  
It was then, that Ginny had noticed the town's sign. She had seen it before, but not for many years and in the darkness of one of the most horrible nights of her life. They were going to Godric's Hollow.  
The thought of going back to the remains of Harry's parent's house filled her with dread. She was only just turned fifteen when the secrets of an enchanted music box given to her by her father, led them here to Godric's Hollow. The music box had in fact belonged to Harry's mother Lily long ago, and it also contained a key to a secret vault that belonged to her.   
The vault was also sought after by Voldemort, who sent Peter Pettigrew and a pair of Death Eaters to find and open the vault. But the vault had another secret that they were unaware of, not even Voldemort. There was a second lock that could only be opened by the melody of the music box.   
Pettigrew had found them as they were attempting to open the vault. Ginny had been stabbed and nearly killed, if not for Professor Snape, who had helped Harry save her life.  
They had never returned to the Hollow since then to open the vault. Now that Voldemort knew where it was kept, it was far too dangerous to go back until his defeat.  
They drove up a bit further and stopped in front of the large wood that had surrounded the house.   
Harry jumped off the bike. "We're here." He said smiling.  
"What are we doing here?" Ginny said nervously, climbing off the bike. "Is this what you had in mind as a hideout?"  
Harry simply smiled at her, saying nothing. He walked the bike along the road to what Ginny could see as an opening in the wood. Ginny followed behind him cautiously, but she was also anxious to see what Harry seemed to be so smug about.   
And then when she followed him around the corner she saw what he was so keen to show her.

The charred remains were now replaced by a brand-new two story cottage; white with navy shutters. Ginny's mouth gaped open in awe.  
"Harry . . . "  
"Surprise!"  
"...how? .....why? ..." Ginny sputtered out.  
Harry went on, barely able to contain his excitement. "I came back here last summer after Voldemort died, and it was strange. I expected to be flooded with memories of hatred and death, but I wasn't. Instead I felt nothing but warmth and love, the love of my parents.  
"I was then reminded of something Dumbledore told me before he died. 'Harry,' he said, " Harry did his best impression of Dumbledore. Ginny tried not to giggle. " 'Don't allow the past determine who you are, but rather, allow the past become a part of who you want to be.' I was moved. This was a home of sadness and death for so long, I wanted to restore it into a place of love and happiness. The way it was when my parents were alive."  
"So you rebuilt the house?"  
"Yeah, Sirius found the floor plans for the house for me. I've had it under construction since February. They just completed it last month."  
"And you never told me?" Ginny said, still stunned. But her eyes never left the sight of the cottage.  
"Believe me Ginny. This was quite a secret to keep from you. I have been dying to tell you all year." Harry looked down and shuffled his feet, saying under his breath, "I really wanted this to be a surprise of a different kind, but I guess this will do."

Ginny gave him a sideways look, but pretended to ignore the remark. She had known what he meant.  
Instead she hugged Harry hard. "Harry, this is so wonderful!"  
"You really like it?"   
"I love it! Really I do!" she kissed him hard on the lips. "Is it furnished too?"  
"Yes, but I had a bit of help with that. It still needs a woman's touch though." Harry said, nudging her.  
Ginny grabbed his arm. "Well, what are we waiting for, show me around!"  
Harry led her along the stone path up to the house and opened the door.  
"It's great, isn't it?"  
"It's just lovely!"  
Harry gave her a tour of the cottage. It was much larger than it had looked from the outside, with lots of sun and light especially for being hidden in the trees as it was.  
He was just showing her the enormous kitchen when Ginny stopped in her tracks. She was staring out the kitchen window into the gardens of the back yard.  
"Blimey, the vault!"  
Harry laughed. "I was wondering when you were going to remember that."  
Without another thought in her mind, Ginny raced back outside where Harry parked his motorbike. She dug out the music box from her trunk and ran back to the house.  
Ginny scrambled out the backdoor to find Harry who was already in the gardens behind the house waiting for her near some rose bushes. The garden itself was beautiful. Not like she remembered at all, with flowers of every kind surrounding the yard. The woods behind them didn't look as dark and foreboding as usual. They were green and welcoming.   
"Are you ready?" Harry asked.  
"What do I do?" Ginny asked excitedly.  
"Just open the box. The music should activate the second lock."  
"Do you still have the key?"  
Harry pulled out the small golden key from his pocket. "Right here."  
Harry gently pushed aside the rosebush revealing the vault door. Ginny watched as he pushed the key into the first lock. Nothing.  
Ginny moved forward and slowly opened the music box. They both heard the lock click and the door slowly crept open slightly.  
Harry took the door handle in his hand and opened the door.

* * *

Ron was nervously reviewing his new stats of the Cannons game as he waited for his editor, Mr. Connolly to finish speaking with his assistant in the doorway.  
Connolly had asked Ron to meet him earlier that morning in his office. He never called Ron into his office, unless it was to give him a "being a good journalist" lecture. And by looking at the rather sour look on his face, Ron felt that this meeting was going to be no different. Except of course that Ron didn't have a clue as to what he had done to deserve it.  
"...well please let me know when he comes in Jules, I want Weasley to meet him right away!" Connolly shouted, closing the door behind him.  
Ron was curious now. Perhaps it wasn't going to be a lecture after all. And who was it that Connolly was so anxious for him to meet anyways?  
Connolly sat at his desk. A very strange look crept across his face, his lip curling upwards. Ron guessed it was his way of smiling, but he still wasn't sure.  
"Weasley, I have some good news, well, for you anyways. I need you to cover the World Cup this year."  
"What?" Ron said surprised. He tried to conceal his excitement for the moment. "I thought Morrison was covering the cup."  
Connolly looked irritable at the thought. "Well, that schmuck left me in the lurch to go to Rome on some family business--indefinitely. So, I need you to start covering the playoffs right away."  
Ron's heart lept. The World Cup, what luck! This was his chance to do some serious writing. Maybe even some good pieces on the star players as well. He had dreamed of this for ages, but he never thought he would get a chance so quickly.  
"Thank you sir! I promise, you won't be sorry."  
"Good. Saturday is England vs. Ireland. 10 a.m. and I . . . "  
Connolly's assistant knocked on the door. "He's here sir!"  
"Thank you Jules, show him in." Connolly said picking up his cup of tea.  
"As I was saying, I even got you a new photographer, straight out of Hogwarts. He will be joining you for the duration of the Playoffs and the Cup."  
The door creaked open and a blonde haired young man walked through uneasily, with a familiar, but cheery smile upon his face.  
"Weasley, I'd like you to meet your new photographer, Colin Creevey."  



	4. The Vault

Chapter Three

The Vault

Harry opened the door revealing a stone staircase that led them underground at least four or five meters.  
Harry immediately pulled out his wand and said _"LUMOS!_", starting down the stairs without a thought. Ginny also lit her wand and continued down the staircase close behind Harry.  
At the end of the stairs stood another large metal door. Harry checked the knob; it wasn't locked. He turned back to Ginny with a look of pure joy on his face, like a third year entering Honeydukes for the first time.  
Harry opened the door and pushed away the cobwebs covering the entrance to the room. As they entered, a torchlight suddenly lit up next to the doorway, lighting the entire room. It was much larger than Harry expected it to be. He always imagined it to be a small, claustrophobic room, with a few books here and there.   
Nothing could have been further from the truth. The room was huge. Shelves lined every inch of the walls, covered in dust and cobwebbing. A large library table filled the center of the room. Quills, parchment, several books, and ink were strewn all over the desk.  
"Amazing!" Ginny squealed, as she immediately went to the shelves of books, reading title after title through the dust.  
Harry wandered about the room some more, gliding his fingers through dust and cobwebs, trying to get a feeling of what it was like for his mother to be down there as she was studying the ancient books.  
He looked back to Ginny, who was scanning the shelves almost madly for another book. She already had three in her arms.  
He tried not to laugh. "I take it you found a few interesting reads?"  
Ginny looked at him with wide eyes. It reminded him of Hermione finding a book in the Hogwarts Library that she had never read.  
"Well, if we're gonna be cooped up here for a while, I might as well make the most of it." she said grinning.  
Harry grinned back at her. He was thankful to have found a nice diversion for her while they stayed at the cottage.

* * *

"This is the smallest oven I've ever seen!" Ginny said, as she tried to stuff a whole chicken in the microwave. In frustration of not getting it to work, she pulled out her wand to cast a heating spell.  
"No! Wait!" Harry yelled, jumping over from the potatoes he was peeling, grabbing the wand from her hand. "That's not an oven, it's a microwave. You'll probably blow it up if you cast a spell on it!"  
"What's a microwave?"  
"A microwave?!" Harry said surprised. He shook his head and laughed. "I forget sometimes that you aren't entirely familiar with muggle appliances."  
Ginny smiled to herself. "True, this was much more down dad's alley than mine." she said thinking thoughtfully of her father. "He could go on for hours about muggles. I rather miss that sometimes.'  
"Yeah, he did love anything to do with 'ekeltricity'." Harry said jokingly. They both laughed at the happy memories as he helped her put the chicken into the real oven.  
Their laughter continued over dinner. Ginny went on again about people at school, and Harry updated her on his friends.  
"I even heard that Neville is dating Pavarti Patil now. Is that really true?" Ginny asked Harry, fascinated by the thought.  
Harry chuckled. "Actually, it is. I guess once he grew out of his awkward stage, Pavarti couldn't resist."  
Ginny giggled as she said teasingly, "Ah yes, Neville always was quite the charmer you know . . . "  
Harry feigned a jealous look and tried to pinch her across the table, but Ginny pulled away quickly, nearly falling from her own chair. This made them laugh even harder.  
I t had been nearly a year since Harry had actually sat down with Ginny and had any fun with her. Harry had nearly forgotten how much he had loved just being with Ginny. He enjoyed the fact that he could just be himself, and not the 'famous Harry Potter'. They could always laugh and play around with each other easily. It made him realize how much he really missed her over the last year.

"So, tell me about Hagrid and Olympe," Harry said, taking their plates back to the kitchen. "I heard that Hagrid has to build an addition to the house in Hogsmeade, just to make room for the baby."  
Ginny giggled. "He had to, Olympe is so big from the pregnancy, she is nearly as big as the house already. Can you imagine a baby in there as well?"  
"True," Harry said, rinsing off the plates. "Hagrid must be glowing though. Finally, a little monster of his own that he can actually keep!"  
Ginny got up from the table and began making some tea, while Harry finished with the dishes. They retired to the living room and Harry started a fire, while Ginny began to flip through of the books she pulled from the vault. Harry sat down on the couch beside her, when she turned to him suddenly, a terrified look on her face.  
"What is it?"  
"Harry," she began in a soft voice, as though she was a little girl again, "What if the reason they are looking for me is to get to the vault again? Wouldn't this be the first place they'd look for us?"  
"No," Harry said casually.  
Ginny waited for him to elaborate, but he didn't. "Well, aren't you going to tell me why?" she said, a bit irritated again by his limited information.  
"My dear, I assure you that we are quite well protected here."   
"Please Harry, just stop skirting the issue, and tell me why!" she said exasperated.  
"All right, I'm sorry." Harry said, feeling bad for irritating her so. "We are under a Fidelius charm. No one even knows that the cottage exists but you, me and our secret keeper. If anyone even comes near the property, all they would see is the former house in ruins like before."  
"Now was that so hard?" she snapped back sarcastically. "So, who is our secret keeper?"  
"Now that is a different secret altogether, and not one you should need to know anyway."  
"You're not going to tell me?" Ginny asked flatly.  
"Nope."  
"Not even a hint?"  
"I'm sorry Ginny, but the less you know the better." Harry leaned in close and kissed her, then pulled away, just enough to look into her light brown eyes.   
Ginny gave him a tender smile and said sweetly before kissing him again, "Potter, one day you're going to have to put me in St. Mungo's Hospital, because you will have driven me mad."


	5. Ron's Bind

Chapter Four

Ron's Bind

  


Ron had felt uneasy about working with Colin Creevy. With Colin being the huge fan of Harry for the past seven years, he was sure that Harry would be the only subject he would want to talk about.   
He had been pleasantly surprised however. Colin had not even made mention of Harry all week. But Colin was still as inquisitive as he ever was. The natural journalist. He was often hounding Ron about information on the smallest of things, from players to copy. It seemed a little over the top sometimes, as though he did it just to talk to him. Ron just figured he was eager to please and dealt with the constant questioning.  
"Are you ready to go Ron?" Colin said poking his head through the door into Ron's office.  
Ron looked at the watch Hermione gave to him as an anniversary present last year. "Bloody Hell! It's 8:45 already! We have to get going before we miss all the good seats in the press box."  
Colin opened the door to his office and walked inside.  
Ron's office looked very much like his bedroom back at the Burrow he still kept. It was a shambles. The room was small, with team stats and pictures pinned up all over the walls. There was barely enough room for the small desk and chairs he had as well. He kept his most prized possession, an autographed photo of his favorite team, the Chudley Cannons, framed up on the wall behind his desk.  
His desk itself was cluttered with parchment and quills, nearly covering the small perch he kept for his owl, Pig, and the various pictures he had of his family, Harry and Hermione.  
Ron looked around. "Wait a minute. Let me make sure that I haven't forgotten anything."

"Do you think that the game will be that long?" Colin asked.  
"Probably not. England has an amazing team this year, especially now with their new chaser, Roland. They have more than a fighting chance against Ireland now." Ron said, grabbing his omninoculars from his desk drawer. He had ignored the fact that Pig was hopping around excitedly about his desk, trying to attract his attention.  
Colin tilted his head in confusion as he walked over and sat on the edge of the desk, watching Ron scramble around the small room, grabbing his hat and scarf.  
"Why are you taking your hat and scarf? Don't you intend to come back tonight after the game?"  
"Not tonight." Ron said with a broad grin. "I'm having dinner with Hermione. We've been planning it for weeks. I'm heading to her place after the game."  
For an instant, Colin looked slightly disappointed, but quickly smiled again, picking up a photo of Hermione, in Hogwarts robes, showing off her Head Girl badge.  
"Oh yeah, I forgot that you two are still dating."  
Ron gave him a sideways look at the strange comment, but Colin didn't notice.   
"We're engaged."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah, hopefully this summer."  
Ron turned around and closed his eyes in a cringe, realizing what he had let slip out.

"Your'e not sure?" Colin asked looked at him again, puzzled.  
"Er, we have a few family issues to deal with. Can't really talk about it if you don't mind." Ron said, continuing to search his desk aimlessly.  
"Oh." Colin sensed his uneasiness and tried to change the subject.  
"Hey, your owl seems to be quite excited about something or other."   
By now, Pig was hopping about like mad on his desk. Ron was so used to ignoring is hyperactive owl, that he never noticed her half the time anyway.  
"Oh yeah, I'd hate to leave her behind." Ron said, remembering. He scooped Pig up in his hand and shoved her into the pocket of his robe.  
"Well, that must be it." Ron said sighing, pulling out a pouch of flew powder. "Let's get going to the fireplaces."  
Colin looked at his pouch and said in a rather impressive tone. "There's no need for that, I just passed my apparating test recently!"  
Ron gave him a disheartened look, no doubt one that he had picked up from his fiancé. "But didn't you just get out of school?"  
Colin, as if on cue, quickly justified himself. "I just passed it this week. Professor Lupin has been allowing me to practice at Hogwarts. Rough test too, I must say. I really had to practice quite a bit, before I got it right."  
"I see." Ron said, not entirely sure of Colin's confidence in his skills. He simply nodded to the almost empty corner of his tiny office. "Well Creevey, be my guest."  
Ron watched closely as Colin smiled weakly at him and walked to the corner of his office. Colin closed his eyes tightly and raised his wand.  
_"APPARATE CLOVER STADIUM!"  
_ And with a flick of his wand, Colin slowly vanished.  
Ron sighed with relief that he had seemingly completed his apparation successfully.  
He looked at his watch again and walked himself to the same corner.  
Ron felt Pig jumping around in his robe and he spoke to her, as he always did, in a soft voice.   
"I hope this really is a short game Pig. I would hate to face Herm if I ended up missing supper."  


  


* * *

Ron arrived at the east gate nearest to the press box. He looked around for Colin, who was nowhere in sight.  
"Oh great," he mumbled to himself, rolling his eyes. "probably splinched himself, the silly git."  
Ron began looking around for Colin, asking other wizards that were making their way into the stands or to the snack bar for refreshments. He was about to ask a rather sullen looking witch when he finally saw Colin, red-faced and running down the hallway towards him.  
"Oy! Ron!"  
Ron sighed with relief. " What happened to you? Where were you?"  
Colin tried not to look him in the eye as he was adjusting his camera. "Er, I landed on the other side of the pitch." he said embarrassedly. "Ran into this nice bloke who seemed rather late himself, but he was kind enough to give me directions to the press box."   
Ron gave him a hard look. "Well at least your'e here in one piece. Now come on, the game is about to start."  
They reached the press box with just enough time to still get some fairly good seats. There were several other journalists there as well, mostly from Ireland, but Ron recognized a few from France and Austrailia as well, who's teams were also in the playoffs.  
They had just taken their seats when the comentator began his introductions of the players. "And now here comes Ireland! O'Grady, Lynch, Moran, Quigley, Shaunnesey, Mullet and Ryan!"  
The crowd cheered as wisps of green and gold flew about the stadium. Ron pulled out his omninoculars to watch.  
"...and now England takes the pitch! Finch, Stephenson, Roland, Smith-Westerling, Parish, Henley and Sorbel!"  
"Look! There's Sorbel!" Ron yelled over the noise of the crowd to Colin, pointing to the young man in red and blue, striding onto the pitch with the rest of England's National team.  
"Sorbel is England's new chaser. He's the reason that they are even in the playoffs this year. Unfortunately, he almost never gives interviews. I'd spew slugs again for the chance at an interview with him!"  
Colin put his camera down and snatched the omninoculars from Ron's hands. "Hey, that's the bloke I ran into when I apparated here!"

"Bloody hell, you're kidding!"

"Really, I talked with him for sometime. He seemed real nice. I had no idea it was him."

"Well, what did he say to you?" Ron said excitedly, suddenly losing interest in the team as the referee released the quaffle in the air to start the game.

"Well, I excused myself and told him I was fairly new at apparating. He told me about when he got his apparating licence, that he still needed some practice himself, but it worked out and all."

"That's it?"

"Well, yes."

Ron just sat back into his seat, a grim look on his face. He knew it wasn't Colin's fault, but he would have never let an interview like that slip through his fingers so easily.

The game continued on for hours, and by late afternoon, the scoreboard read England 460, Ireland 430. Ron watched the time slowly ticking closer and closer to supper time. The players had been wearing down for some time, and with no sign of the snitch in sight, it didn't look as though the game was about to end anytime soon.

"I guess you can say now that I was wrong about the game being short." Ron said with a heavy sigh.

Colin sounded sympathetic. "It will be getting dark soon, won't you miss your dinner with Hermione?"

"It certainly seems that way." he answered miserably.

"Can't you send her your owl to let her know you'll be late."

"You don't know Hermione very well do you?" Ron said sarcastically. "Besides, it's already too late, she would never reach her in time."

"I'm sorry Ron. I don't know what to say." Colin looked genuinely concerned for him.

"I do. She's gonna kill me." Ron mumbled.

After a few minutes, Colin popped up in his seat, as though he were struck with an idea.

"Ron, I have an idea. Why don't you let me take notes for the rest of the game. I already have more than enough pictures. It wouldn't be any trouble at all really, and if you go now, you can make it just in time for dinner with your fiancé."

Ron gave Colin a sideways glance, wondering what he was playing at. "Are you sure?"

"Oh, yeah. I've always been good at taking notes. I'll just send them back to you by owl when the games over."

Not giving much thought to the idea, Ron nodded in agreement. The only thought that had in fact entered his mind was the disappointed face Hermione would give him when he didn't arrive in time. 

Ron reached into his robes and pulled out Pig. "Here, you can use my owl, Pig. She's a lot quicker than most of them at the Prophet anyway."

Colin looked delighted. "Thanks Ron. I won't let you down."

Ron put a hand on his shoulder. "No, thank you. You have no idea how much you are about to save my bum."

Ron gave him a big grin, and raced out of the press box.


End file.
